It was a scorching hot October day, a merciless sun beat down on mine and thousands of other shoulders as my lovely lady and I carried the camera gear kilometers up the beach. Up ahead in the distance (*Sings* I saw a shimmering light!) hundreds of kites hung in a stiff breeze coming straight off the pacific, pulling tightly against their strings. Children looked up in awe, adults stood rooted to the spot, astounded. It truly was a sight to behold and I think the Coolum Kite Festival surprised us all that day. It was fantastic!
I’d heard about this event a while back and thought it might be interesting to shoot. Let’s be straight though, I thought it would be a couple of locals flying their little kites down on the beach, nothing too crazy, but worth a look. I was stunned! It was huge, apparently one of the best kite festivals in the world with international fliers and everything. People had come from all over, there was even international media at the event. I really couldn’t believe it!
I went there with the 500D kit and sadly (Well, not really, but almost) it will probably be the last 500D video I shoot, as the 7D arrives in about an hour (not that I’m counting 
). The HVX with a Rode shotgun and Dead Cat came along too, as I figured this time I would like to get at least a little bit of interview footage as well.
My lovely girlfriend accompanied me to give me a hand and was put in charge of holding the HVX and reflector. She was a huge help and only dropped the HVX in the sand once! Could have been disastrous, but it actually wasn’t as bad as it sounds, a lot of blowing and less freaking out than I would have thought, and it was back to normal with no grit in the zoom or anything. Happy Days! Anyway. . .
I ended up shooting a similar kind of style to the golf clip, as I was really pleased with how the handheld shots brought a more organic and lively feel to the action when cut with the locked off shots.
All the handheld footage was shot with the Sigma 30mm f1.4. The lens works really nicely for this, but because the whole rig is so light, you have got to be very steady with it or the rolling shutter issues of the CMOS sensor totally destroy the footage. I am thinking that getting some rods will add to the weight of the camera and help those shots as well as be the first step towards adding a matte box to the kit, which I desperately want to do. A full rig with a follow focus, matte box and all would be perfect, but at this stage, could be a little while off. I’ll put that one on the wishlist!
There’s a couple of wides in there from the Tokina 11-16 and the telephoto’s are from the trusty Canon 75-300.
This was really fun to shoot, the kites were mesmerising to watch. In hindsight, I should have probably shot some slow motion of the bigger ones as the tails and what not would have looked almost hypnotic at 50 frames a second, but there’s always next year.
More soon. . .
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Hi Christian,
once again i am astonished about the brilliance of the colours and the sharpness of your videos. Also because of you i bought an 500D with Sigma 18-50/2.8. I put my first video online http://vimeo.com/6979070. I would be very happy if you could look at it and give me a tip, how i can reach your sharpness and colors. As you are now proud owner of a 7D i want to keep the 500D alive over here in Cologne, Germany. And btw. what settings do you use for exporting the videos for vimeo?
Best regards,
David
Hey David! Thanks for the kind words mate, I’m glad you like the vids!
Took a look at your Afternoon in Cologne. There are some nice shots in there, good work.
As far as advice, I would look at getting a little fluid head tripod so you can get some stability, handheld is good, but the rolling shutter on those camera’s means it’s not viable all the time.
As far as colours goes, grab yourself a Circular Polariser and watch your white balance. A bodgy white balance can ruin what would otherwise might be very nice colours.
Gee you can really see the colour difference and sharpness between the HVX and the 500D eh, gotta love those VDSLR’s.
I was supposed to be at the kite festival with Telstra who were doing live streaming from the beach to a SUV with LCD’s mounted on the Tailgate, you may have seen them. We’re testing a live streaming system to use on a jetski using NextG. Upload speeds can now extend to 5.7mbps so quality streaming is achievable now. We have a few hitches though, testing some different cameras next week and purpose built laptops.
Love your work Christian.
Cheers Rambo
Thanks Rambo!
Ahhh, don’t write the old HVX off just yet, that colour profile was set up for maximum shadow detail and less vibrant colours. It’s what I use for high contrast interviews where I don’t want peoples’ skin to look orange.
As far as colour and sharpness goes the HVX definitely wins out over the 500D when it’s set up right. But the HVX has pretty pathetic DOF in comparison to the 500D, that’s why I use it so much. Even though the image may not be as high quality, the extra depth more than makes up for it in my opinion.
Cheers for the comment, we must catch up one of these days!
Hi Christian, your clip of Coolum Kite Festival captures the true essence of the festival. Your comment “thought it would be a few locals flying their kites” is typical of people’s perception. When they make the effort to get down to the beach they are “blown away” which is why the event continues to grow. All of this via a volunteer committee with assistance of another 160 local volunteers + SES + Surf Lifesavers etc! We would really appreciate use of your clip in our efforts to gain sponsorship / funding for 2010.
Hey Gem,
I’ve been meaning to get in contact with you recently and just haven’t had a chance.
We’ll talk soon mate!
Christian
Mate, great work would be an understatement. I took some footage there, but I am so embarrassed to put upload it now… but I will
soon.
The day I can do what you do with the 500D, I am upgrading… otherwise, I am sticking with it.
Cheers
Yeah the 500D is a great little camera, certainly did the job for me! The 7D was just more practical and it’s much easier to get the shots I need quickly without having to employ all those fiddly workarounds. Thanks for the nice words, Qusay!
Hi Christian,
great work! Great colored and contrast footage! (:
I would to ask about what did you used like what type of your “picture style” – (sharpness, color boost and other options), what was HD mode 720p or 1080p, and how did you done converting 20 fps to 25?
Sorry, so many questions. (:
Thank You anyway! And congrads with your new 7d mate (:
Hey Mase!
Thanks for the kind words!
I have no idea what picture profile setting were, I change the settings nearly every shot to get the look I want. For me there hasn’t really been any “golden” setting that works well everywhere. I just fiddle around with it until it looks nice to me.
I never shot the 500D in 1080P. I felt 20fps was useless. I always shot 720P and conformed to 25P with Cinema Tools.
Awesome!
hey Christian,
loving the website, you’re a very talented man! just curious, do you shoot 1080 or 720 in the 500d shorts?
ta,
D
Thanks David, much appreciated mate!
Yes, on the 500D it’s all 720P for me. It works a treat compared to the 1080P mode.
Thanks for stopping by!
oh just read the comment above! 720..
Great Christian – its cool coming from Vimeo with something that grabs me & next thing I know is the blokes work is a Aussie. Good work buddy.
So having shot this last October (Coolum Kite Festival on the 500D) you were on hold to receive a Canon D7 – why a D7 & not a D5?
Also i SHOOT a lot of surfing – have a look at my vimeo site, i was wondering what settings you set your scene files too for the general out doors shoots, as you shot the Kites show?
My interviews/skin tones do look a little orange.But i do like the contasts in my shots. Regards Tim.
Hey Tim!
I know who you are mate! I’ve been a big fan of your work ever since being blown away by Blackwater a few years back. That was a sick flick bro!
Ok, so I went with a 7D over a 5D, for a couple of reasons. Firstly, the frame rates of the 7D (25P and slo-mo in 720P was a real drawcard. I used to shoot alot of sports an brought the HVX specifically for it’s overcranking ability), secondly, the fact it was $1000 cheaper and at that time, it seemed like a much better camera for the money. I really didn’t need a full frame sensor for low light performance and that extra bit of bokeh. So far I have been very happy with my choice. Sure I’ll go full frame one day, but for now, I’m happy. Oh and it’s also pretty nice to put a 400mm lens on and have it turn into a 640mm lens! The crop factor is cool
I have no idea what settings I used on this video, it was so long ago. . .I have been asked this alot and really I don’t have a secret sauce as such. . .I just shoot whatever looks good on the day, using the default picture profiles and tweaking all the settings until I get something I am pleased with.
I do know that for interviews I usually shoot in Portait or Faithful, simply because it doesn’t make people look to orange.
Thanks for stopping by Tim. If you’re ever heading up this way, just holler, it’d be great to catch up over a few beers.
Christian
Hello Christian, I tried to use the link to view the footage of the Kite Festival again. You may have read in local Sunshine Coast papers that we are seeking a new event manager for the Coolum Kite Festival due to current long term organisers burnout. As mentioned previously, I think your clip would be a great tool to assist with sponsorship for the future of the festival. Would love to discuss with you further. I can be contacted at info@coolumkitefestival.com
Cheers
Gem